Hi! I have a MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook (parallel interface) that I would like to use with my new DAW (Windows XP Pro SP3). The last software that MOTU released for it was for Win98. I tried loading it but no luck.
Has anyone gotten a MIDI Express PC Notebook to work with Win XP?
I last used it with ProAudio 9 (Win98) but I have moved on to Sonar which will not run under Win98. So I am using Windows XP and now I can't get the MIDI Express PC Notebook working.
I guess I could set up my Libretto 100CT (runs Win98) to run it but that seems like overkill.
Also, does anyone have a manual for the MIDI Express PC Notebook that they would like to sell? Or perhaps copy for me? I will pay fo the copying and postage.
Thanks!
Tony
Orlando, FL
MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
Moderator: James Steele
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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
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1nput0utput
- Posts: 1477
- Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:21 am
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Re: MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
The MIDI Express PC Notebook is so old that it will probably never work with anything newer than Windows 98.
The leading cause of wrong answers is asking the wrong questions.
Re: MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
I have made some progress. Since there is a severe lack of information on the MIDI Express PC Notebook (MEPCN), I will document it here.
I hooked up the MEPCN to my Win98/DOS 7 box at work (I keep it for situations like this. It's an old 500MHz AMD box that I use for DOS development). I installed the 1.11 software that I downloaded from MOTU site.
The software is not well behaved. If you have only one parallel port it MUST be configured as LPT1. I had only one parallel port defined to Win98 as LPT2 and the MOTU software would NOT load as it thought LPT1 was in use. I activated all three parallel ports in Win98 and now the software woks fine. Just make sure you have LPT1 defined in your Win98 Device Manager.
A word on the parallel cable requirements. MEPCN has a DB-25 MALE connector on the back of the unit. You need a straight through DB-25 M to DB-25 F cord to connect it. These are getting harder to find. I used a thin DB-25 F to F gender changer and used a Mac DB-25 M to DB-25 M SCSI cable which works just fine. BTW, Iomega made some nice DB-25 M to DB-25 F cables for their external SCSI ZIP drive. They work as well but might be a bit short depending on your setup.
A big BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious)! No MIDI data is transmitted over the parallel cable! All the parallel cable does is allow you to program the settings on the MEPCN. This means the unit can be used with ANY system (WinXP, Vista, Amiga, Mac etc) as it is not computer dependant. Once programmed the unit should keep your settings in non-volatile memory. So my plan is to simply program the settings I need as USER1 and a backup copy on USER2 using the Win98 machine. Once programmed I shouldn't need to make changes that often so having to drag out my Libretto 100CT laptop doesn't seem like too big of a deal.
I have programmed the MEPCN as follows:
MIDI 1 In to MIDI 1,2,3,4,5 OUTS
MIDI 2,3,4 INS to MIDI 6 OUT.
I have not tried using the SMPTE/JAM & Stripe feature.
So far it's held the settings for an hour with the power cable disconnected. I need to do a longer test.
Tony
I hooked up the MEPCN to my Win98/DOS 7 box at work (I keep it for situations like this. It's an old 500MHz AMD box that I use for DOS development). I installed the 1.11 software that I downloaded from MOTU site.
The software is not well behaved. If you have only one parallel port it MUST be configured as LPT1. I had only one parallel port defined to Win98 as LPT2 and the MOTU software would NOT load as it thought LPT1 was in use. I activated all three parallel ports in Win98 and now the software woks fine. Just make sure you have LPT1 defined in your Win98 Device Manager.
A word on the parallel cable requirements. MEPCN has a DB-25 MALE connector on the back of the unit. You need a straight through DB-25 M to DB-25 F cord to connect it. These are getting harder to find. I used a thin DB-25 F to F gender changer and used a Mac DB-25 M to DB-25 M SCSI cable which works just fine. BTW, Iomega made some nice DB-25 M to DB-25 F cables for their external SCSI ZIP drive. They work as well but might be a bit short depending on your setup.
A big BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious)! No MIDI data is transmitted over the parallel cable! All the parallel cable does is allow you to program the settings on the MEPCN. This means the unit can be used with ANY system (WinXP, Vista, Amiga, Mac etc) as it is not computer dependant. Once programmed the unit should keep your settings in non-volatile memory. So my plan is to simply program the settings I need as USER1 and a backup copy on USER2 using the Win98 machine. Once programmed I shouldn't need to make changes that often so having to drag out my Libretto 100CT laptop doesn't seem like too big of a deal.
I have programmed the MEPCN as follows:
MIDI 1 In to MIDI 1,2,3,4,5 OUTS
MIDI 2,3,4 INS to MIDI 6 OUT.
I have not tried using the SMPTE/JAM & Stripe feature.
So far it's held the settings for an hour with the power cable disconnected. I need to do a longer test.
Tony
Re: MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
The MEPCN does not hold the user settings very long. When I got home I put it in my rack & hooked it up. Nothing. Fortunatley I brought home my Win98 CPU and hooked it up (I have a KVM switch on my DAW).
Sure enough when I loaded the MOTU software all the user presets were gone. I reloaded my USER1 file and the MEPCN worked just fine. So I need to get my Libretto out of storage to run the MEPCN.
I called MOTU and they had a used copy of the MEPCN available and it is on the way to me.
Sure enough when I loaded the MOTU software all the user presets were gone. I reloaded my USER1 file and the MEPCN worked just fine. So I need to get my Libretto out of storage to run the MEPCN.
I called MOTU and they had a used copy of the MEPCN available and it is on the way to me.
Re: MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
Well, the manual from MOTU showed up. It's the wrong one. It's for "MIDI Express PC" not "MIDI Express PC Notebook". I'm keeping it though for my library. I think that this is the first MIDI interface made for the PC by MOTO as it shows a dedicated 8 Bit XT card!
So I still need the manual for the MIDI Express PC Notebook.
Tony
So I still need the manual for the MIDI Express PC Notebook.
Tony
Re: MOTU MIDI Express PC Notebook & WinXP
I've given up trying to get the MOTU software to run on Windows XP. Instead I am using an old Toshiba Libretto 70CT mini-laptop to control the MIDI Express PC Notebook. It's been awhile since I've used the 70CT! It is running Win98 SE and has 32MB of RAM! 120 MHz Pentium! I had it stashed away in the basement so I just put it back to work!
You will need the port replicator or the docking station to get a parallel port with the Libretto 70CT. By default the Toshiba pararllel port is the ECC type. I had to get into the BIOS during a cold boot (pres the escape key) to get to the BIOS set up. Just change it to standard bi-directional and it works fine.
I set the screen to 640 x 480 and the software fills the screen nicely.
Once you decide on your MIDI port mapping just save the the setup as a BANK and all you do is just load the file when you use the MEPCN.
Tony
You will need the port replicator or the docking station to get a parallel port with the Libretto 70CT. By default the Toshiba pararllel port is the ECC type. I had to get into the BIOS during a cold boot (pres the escape key) to get to the BIOS set up. Just change it to standard bi-directional and it works fine.
I set the screen to 640 x 480 and the software fills the screen nicely.
Once you decide on your MIDI port mapping just save the the setup as a BANK and all you do is just load the file when you use the MEPCN.
Tony